Citigroup Cuts Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $116.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price lowered by Citigroup from $130.00 to $116.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $166.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.50.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK opened at $88.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. The company has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of 124.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $108.44 and a 200-day moving average of $121.71. Westlake has a 52-week low of $85.31 and a 52-week high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 45.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 247.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in Westlake by 43.2% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 6,316.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 1,668.2% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 72.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products.